My favorite kitchen appliances and my new favorite adult drink recipe!
I’m rather surprised at myself for being able to write a post even mentioning kitchen appliances because, honestly, I’m not that big of a fan. Seems to me that most (if not all of us!) have at least one or two random gadgets collecting dust in a closet somewhere! Just about every time I’ve either asked (for xmas etc) or purchased an appliance for myself I’ve always brought them home crossing my fingers that it will be something worth the price and the space it takes up on my counter top! So, these are the four I never regretted for a moment that work hard for me almost every single day I’ve had them!
My Sodastream
Sodastreams are SO much fun! You can literally carbonate any liquid whether it be juice or tea or just plain water. In the summers I’ll mix up a batch of honey jasmine tea and carbonate it for an amazingly refreshing drink. You can go online and get syrups to make your own red bull, cola, ginger ale, dr pepper, honestly just about every soda that you can think of now you can make it at home. Will you save money by using the soda stream and making your sodas at home? Well, I doubt it, but I’ve found now that I’m making my own I drink a lot less soda and make more sparkling juices and teas instead and any amount of cutting back on soda is a good thing! Its a great diet helper too, carbonate some plain water and toss in a few slices of orange and a dash of lemon juice for a drink that is so much less boring then water!
I’m sure I’m not the only woman that looks forward to coming home at the end of the day and pouring herself an alcoholic beverage. With a liter of ginger ale freshly made by my sodastream I concocted a drink a couple of months ago that has become my absolute favorite, here are the ingredients:
12oz glass filled 1/3rd with ice
1 shot of vodka
Splash of lemon juice
Fill the rest of the glass half with ginger ale and then half with water
What I love about it is several things actually – it has quite a bit of water in it so you’re staying hydrated, the lemon juice is good for your liver, the ginger ale makes it both bubbly and a little sweet and you can’t taste the vodka – of course you can put more alcohol in it if you want π It is very refreshing and great for summer!
Magic Bullet Nutrabullet
My mom gifted me my magic bullet for Xmas this last year when I told her how much of a (disgusting) pain it was just mixing my protein powder with water in the morning and drinking it like that. I really wanted to be more healthy, to start taking some vitamins and get more healthy stuff into my diet every day. So, she bought me a magic bullet π This thing is amazing! And it is SO easy to clean!
In the mornings now I put a banana in with a couple of ice cubes, my protein powder and my fruit powder and about 1/2 cup of juice. The majority of my supplements I’m taking now are capsules so I actually just open them up and dump them in there too before turning it on. (This recipe is not exactly the tastiest thing on the planet but I just drink it down quick and my breakfast is complete and all of my supplements are taken.) I LOVE it!
My four slice toaster
Do I really need a four slice toaster that may actually be the prettiest thing in my kitchen? YES. Yes I do! I am obsessed with this toaster and I know that sounds so silly but isn’t it cool!? Here’s why I wanted a four slice toaster: My husband (my now ex husband) likes having two slices of toast for breakfast and I usually have one which means someone’s toast is always cold by the time we eat breakfast because we could only toast two slices at a time. (I know, first world problems.) Here’s the thing though, if you’re going to buy a toaster anyway why not make your life just a little bit better?
My Kitchen aide mixer
I am certainly not the first nor will I be the last to mention my kitchen aid mixer in a blog post. (This probably isn’t even the first time I’ve mentioned it here on the blog.) These things are amazing! Despite the obvious uses I purchased the meat grinding attachment a year ago and, during deer season, I’ve been grinding up venison to make my own hamburger! It works like a charm and makes fantastic finely ground burger! With my ability to grind my own meat now there is literally no reason for me to ever buy beef again and that in itself was a major achievement for me! (And a major savings for me cost wise!)
All in I am actually not a big fan of kitchen appliances… seems to me that we all have at least one or two collecting dust in a closet somewhere. (I’m guilty: I’ve got a toaster oven, a sandwich maker and a george foreman grill stashed somewhere.) However, if you make yourself an informed purchase the right kitchen appliances can really improve your life!
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I’m Tarah!
It’s been a hell of a ride since I started this blog and renovated and moved into this old farm house back in 2015. I got married, divorced, lost my doggo soul mate, spent two years as a single gal, remodeled everything, threw my back out countless times and was even found by an amazing guy in my own backyard! (The story behind Storyhardt Farm.)
Around here we’re totally fearless when it comes to bettering our home. We love to refinish old furniture, re-purpose old pieces, build it from scratch and totally renovate anything that needs it! If we can do it – so can you. We’ve got some serious plans for this old farm and, for first time ever, I have a real partner!
This is gonna be so much fun!
You can also find out more about the amazing Grandma behind this blog who moved in to this old farmhouse with my Grandpa nearly 70 years ago!
I use my magic bullet all the time they’re great! I wish I could have afforded a KitchenAid mixer when my three kids were young at home!
Hi Nancy! I was SO lucky to get a KitchenAid mixer as a wedding present, I use it constantly! Thanks so much for coming by, have a great week
I received my KitchenAid Stand Mixer as a wedding gift 5 years ago and it still works like I just pulled it out of the box. Itβs about the only appliance that I use regularly and have not had to replace.
Hey Kim, me too! It really is a wonderful wedding gift!
we have a sodastream and a magic bullet and I don’t think either of them have ever been used. Thanks for reminding me to that we have them! #happynow
Hey Jeremy, oh our Sodastream never gets put away lol, we use it all the time! Thanks for coming by!
That is quite a line up of appliances! I do love my Kitchenaid mixer and don’t know where I would be without it. I also have a Bullet, but I haven’t gone for the Soda Stream yet. We are not big toast folks at my house, when it is just my husband and I, but when my daughter, son in law and granddaughters are visiting, out comes the 4 slice toaster! I don’t have a lot of other appliances, just a Cuisinart food processor which I also use quite a bit, but I do know over the years I have had a few extra appliances that I was sorry were taking up space! Thanks for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!
Hi Chloe, I’ve been thinking about getting a Cuisinart food processor for a long time now I’m just always so worried that I wouldn’t use it enough! Thanks for coming by!
I’m not a big fan of kitchen gadgets that take up space. I do love my kitchen aid and toaster. My daughter has a magic bullet and loves it, but I’m fine using the blender I got from my wedding now and then. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thanks for coming by Jann!
Oh, yes. The Kitchen Aid mixer is a must-have. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Thanks for coming by Leslie!
We like our 4 slice toaster (of course, we have 7 people here and sometimes we just go ahead and make toast in the oven to get it done faster!)… and I loved my Kitchen Aid Mixer for years until I sold it and bought an Electrolux which can make 8 loaves of bread at a time instead of 2. I still love a Kitchen Aid, it just wasn’t big enough for my needs now.
You definitely have more mouths to feed then I do! I love though that some appliances really do help us a lot in the kitchen!
You do have a great list of appliances. My mother, have the same aide mixer like yours. Anyways, thank you for sharing a healthy recipe of boost. Lovely blog indeed, Cheers!
Thanks for coming by!
I need to get me some of these too. I have been very picky about what I put into the house because we have limited space but now I have to just go for it and get a decent blender.
Yup it usually takes me awhile to talk myself into an appliance because it seems like you just never know if its going to be worth it! Thanks for coming by Mary, good luck with your blender! π
I would love to have my own Magic Bullet Nutrabullet because I want to experiment my own shakes, and etc. Thank you so much for the list here. All are helpful and must-have. π
Hi John, thanks for coming by! I had my nutra bullet on my amazon wishlist for nearly a year before a family member gave it to me for my birthday!
I like a toaster oven. It helps me for morning breakfast. It is a time-saving machine for me.
I wish I had a little more counter space! I used a toaster oven for years and just loved it!
Maybe if I mention to my husband that a Kitchen Aid mixer could be used to grind deer meat he might be inclined to buy me one!Thanks for sharing at The Blogger’s Pit Stop! Roseann from http://www.thisautoimmunelife.com
Roseann the grinder attachment was $75 but I still say it was WELL worth it!
I too love the Kitchen Aid mixer though I can’t really afford it at the moment and besides I don’t really have the counter space for it π The grinding attachment sounds awesome too! Thanks for the article. Super informative π
Thanks for coming by Kat! I hear you about counter space, I hate having things on my counter but, every now and again, an appliance does prove worth it to me but every family is different. I received it as a wedding present but I would imagine maybe you have a family that would love to pool together and maybe get you something like this for xmas?